Ephrata woman pleads guilty to child abuse case

An Ephrata woman was sentenced to one year in the Grant County Jail after allegedly leaving her son with her then-boyfriend, whom she knew was hitting the child.

Amber Nicole Hull, 24, was sentenced after pleading guilty to assault in the fourth degree (accomplice) last week. Hull said that on Aug. 24-29, she left her son alone with her ex-boyfriend, who allegedly was abusing him, without calling the police or taking the child to the hospital.

In September 2012, Seattle Child Protective Services (CPS) office advised Ephrata police to erform a welfare check on a child in that area. According to court documents, family members of the child reported seeing red marks and bruises on his body.

Hull and the child were found at a residence on E Street, according to the report, and she agreed to take the child inside and show any injuries. Officers documented injuries to the child’s forehead and extremities.

Hull allegedly stated the injuries happened six or seven days previously and that she hadn’t taken the child to the hospital yet because she made an appointment for Sept. 4.
The child was then taken into protective custody, and CPS workers took him to Columbia Basin Hospital for an exam.

According to the police report, the doctor who performed the examination stated that the most recent injuries occurred within the previous 48 hours and that all the injuries appeared to have occurred over a period of time.

Hull was brought into the Ephrata Police Department for a taped statement. She said her boyfriend at the time, Kyle Eric Deboer, allegedly was responsible. Hull stated that Deboer allegedly disciplined the child by spanking him and pinched and wrestled with the child. In her statement, Hull said she did not call the police or take the child to the hospital.

According to court documents, Deboer was picked up by the police and questioned. Deboer allegedly said he disciplined the child by spanking him and would wrestle and tickle him. Deboer was booked into the Grant County Jail on multiple counts of assault of a child in the second degree.